Lucyann Swenson

Lucyann Loving One (Morse) Swenson, known to many as Meema, died Aug. 18th in her home surrounded by her family. As she begins her journey home to the Creator, she leaves here on Earth, a legacy. A tribal leader and clan mother of the Chaubunagungamaug clan, she is predeceased by her father Edwin Chief Wise Owl Morse, her mother Ruth Precious One Morse and brother Edwin Chief Red Fox Morse Jr.
She leaves behind her husband of 39 years, Paul Lone Elk Swenson of Sutton, daughter Dee Deerheart Shaughnessy and her husband Stephen, daughter Tina Doe Bugbee of Leicester, and son Richard Snow Elk Swenson and his wife Lori. She leaves her beloved grandchildren Briannah Wunnegin, Katie Womonausu, Mark Little Eagle, Mathew Two Hawks, Michael Snowy Owl and Max Little Falcon. She leaves her sister Ruth Bessette and her husband Mike of Charlton as well as several nieces and nephews, step-granddaughters and a great grandson.
Loving One was an author who wrote several pieces on Native legends, the Algonquian language as well as on cultural traditions, ceremonies and customs. In 1979 she began and headed up the quest for federal recognition for her tribe, as well as being an integral part of successfully ascertaining state recognition for them. She has worked diligently as a Commissioner on Indian Affairs, serving under two governors, Paul Celucci and Michael Dukakis. Loving One is credited for re-establishing the council of Chaubunagungamaug, as well as being a co-founder for both the Algonquian Indian School and the Nipmuck House of Learning. She in coordination with elders of the tribe, received a piece of land in 1981 in Webster, Massachusetts, and the Nipmuck Reservation was founded, providing until this day, a place to practice Native ceremony. Loving One put on Pow Wows for 25 years, where traditional foods were served, regalia and native crafts and jewelry were displayed as well as cultural drumming and dancing were performed. Her work through the years saving ancient Indian burial sites, and retrieving and re-interring ancestral remains, as well as a lifetime of teaching, presentations and parades, in order to keep the culture and traditions alive, earned her the title of Clan Mother for life, as elected by the Council of Elders back in 1982.
Lucyann earned her RN from Quinsigamond Community College and her BSN from Worcester State College. Just as in her personal life, in her academics she also excelled. She was a member of PHI THETA KAPPA, Who's Who in Nursing, President of the National Honor Society and a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International. She graduated Magna Cum Laude and has been published in Nursing Magazines. Lucy was employed at UMass Memorial Hospital, beginning her career in the oncology department and ending it in the maternity ward. She often said "I began my nursing career working with the end of life and I ended my career working the beginning of life."
Meema, the mother, the grandmother, the wife, was always taking care of everyone. From the 1970's when she birthed her children and started her family, she also became a reserved deputy sheriff and began the journey of taking care of her people and the community. Through the years she has touched a lot of people's lives, even receiving her most recent title as minister, in this last year of her life.

Lucyann's calling hours will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 22nd at Mulhane Home for Funerals, 45 N. Main St. in Millbury. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23rd in the funeral home. Burial will be in Howard Cemetery in Sutton, MA. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude's Children's Hospital, PO Box 50, Memphis, TN 38101-9929, or Shriner's Hospital for Children-Processing Center, PO BOX 1510, Ranson, WV 25438-4510, or Any "No Kill" Animal Shelter.